Two or three of you have asked what HDTV I ended up getting as my Christmas present based on your advice, given earlier this month. Normally I wouldn't clutter this space with the results but I have an ulterior motive, as you'll see in a second.
As it ended up, some kind folks helped me get a scary, fantastic deal on a Samsung LN52A860, displayed there at BestBuy.com. Thank you to everyone who helped steer me to the right kind of questions and research.
Everything is in place now except for one more detail in which your advice might be helpful. (Then I promise I'll stop asking these things...but really with more and more people turning to HD for sports and such this does have wide applicability.)
We're thinking about a Blu-Ray player to go along with the set. Most of the reviews I've read say the Playstation3 is just about the best mid-range Blu-Ray player you can get. It's somewhat more expensive than a stand-alone but it does play game and it's quick to read and play movies. But then there's the stand-alone options, the less expensive and the more expensive (Panasonic's BD 35 and 55 for those who don't want to click through). The stand-alone options end up less expensive that the PS3, both in initial price and later use, considering you'd buy games and controllers, etc for the console system. Also we're mostly interested in movies and will only get marginal returns from the PS3. But if it really is better we'd go with a PS3. So...Console or stand-alone? If stand-alone, how much does high end matter? What will make our Christmas merriest? I know it's not as sexy as the TV question but any advice from people who have made the Blu Ray jump would be appreciated.
Now...about that ulterior motive.
You may notice a logo at the bottom of this post for Best Buy. They've asked us to do three Christmas-themed posts in the next couple weeks and include their info on them. This is providing Ben's Christmas bonus, so it seemed like a good deal. If you're the kind who doesn't like logos in your posts, don't worry. They won't be showing up regularly. This post is the first. Ben's going to try and track down what's on the Blazers' Christmas lists in his interviews for the second. We'll work together on a wish list for the Blazers for the third. If you feel inclined to click through to Best Buy and shop around a little to thank them for sponsoring the posts, feel free. This is one of only two ad-related things we're doing this season (the second one relates to sending kids to Blazersedge Night) so this is your big chance to help by clicking. (All the other ads you see on the site belong to our parent company.)
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)